Orange County NC Website
opportunity. This will save money in the long term by avoiding price hikes from waste <br /> businesses and fuel cost escalation. He suggested siting a well-designed landfill in one of the <br /> economic development districts that have been sitting vacant for many years. Then <br /> businesses could be sited there that will make products from the waste stream. There could <br /> be incentives such as free electricity from methane generated by the landfill. It could be the <br /> beginning of an eco-industrial park. There is space in the EDDs and an Economic <br /> Development Department that is in need of a mission. <br /> Spence Dickerson said that his farm, Spence's Farm, is right down the road from one of <br /> the potential sites of a waste transfer station and he has had over 10,000 children visit his farm <br /> over the past ten years. He said that it is important to have agriculture in Orange County and <br /> to site a WTS in this area is not right. He said that the County needs to protect this land. He <br /> suggested using the waste as an economic development resource. <br /> Joanne Mitchell is a sewer customer of Orange County and she is against the increase <br /> in the sewer rates in the Efland area. She said that last budget year, the community presented <br /> to the Board of County Commissioners a petition with over 200 signatures a few months ago <br /> that were in disagreement with the unfair increase and now they are back. She said that most <br /> customers would not qualify for financial help from DSS with their sewer bills. She said that <br /> this is not an Efland problem, but it is an Orange County problem. She said that the <br /> community would continue to meet and gather support and seek funding sources and <br /> education on how to support this system. <br /> Robert Campbell is President of the Rogers-Eubanks Road Neighborhood Association. <br /> He said that there is a 75% increase in the amount of buzzards swarming around the landfill <br /> this year. He said that they were told by the Solid Waste Director that it was the citizens' <br /> responsibility and he checked with the State, and the State representatives said that it was the <br /> Solid Waste Director's responsibility to make a recommendation for something to be done <br /> about the buzzards. He said that the citizens cannot do anything about the air quality and the <br /> stench from the landfill, but the County Commissioners can ask the State to come out and <br /> monitor this landfill. He said that he is concerned about the quality of health and life in this <br /> community. He said that the citizens are tired. He said that the County has won awards, but <br /> no humanitarian awards. He asked when the lies would stop and the truth would be revealed. <br /> Christopher Vaughn talked about Option 2, Version 3 of the Orange-Alamance County <br /> line dispute. He said that this latest version includes annexing legitimate Orange County <br /> properties that were never in dispute. Specifically, this includes the Orange County park <br /> section of Mill Creek subdivision. They are Orange County residents that live in the park and <br /> do not want to be forced to change their county that they physically and legitimately lie in. He <br /> said that the annexation of Orange County Mill Creek was done so on the recommendation of <br /> the Mill Creek Owner's Association and the Mebane City Council. He said that arguments <br /> presented for this center on the lack of direct County access between the park and the rest of <br /> Orange County. If this were the qualification for county line redistricting, then all properties <br /> meeting the standard should be changing counties. He said that the primary reason for <br /> annexing Mill Creek is money. The land developer, the owner's association, and some <br /> residents are motivated to move Orange County land into Alamance County for the lower tax <br /> rate, in hopes that it will increase lot sales and Mill Creek Homeowner's Association coffers. <br /> Mill Creek has 96 unsold lots, but less than 25 of those are in Orange County. He said that <br /> each of these groups is conspiring to use a political opportunity to usurp the private property <br /> rates through imminent domain. If Mill Creek is allowed to do this, it will set a precedent that <br /> anyone can change the undisputed county line if they can organize and pay to survey it. He <br /> asked the County Commissioners to please keep the County line where it is for current and <br /> future Orange County and Alamance County property owners. <br />